Purchase a home with as little as 3% down payment – If you are buying a primary residence, conventional financing allows for as little as 3% down payment using Private Mortgage Insurance, which will save you thousands of dollars in closing costs and monthly payments. There is a pretty significant drop in costs if you can scrape up another 2% down for a loan to value of 95%, be sure to ask your loan officer for a comparison.

Refinance a home up to 97% loan to value – Conventional loans allow homeowners to refinance an owner occupied home up to 97% loan to value. Same program as a 3% down payment purchase.

Lender paid mortgage insurance – Conventional programs also allow the lender to pay the mortgage insurance for a borrower. This results in a slightly higher interest rate so do the math. This is a fantastic option for those buyers or owners that want to convert mortgage insurance into tax deductible mortgage interest!

Community Access – This program offers significantly reduced mortgage insurance rates, 3% down payment (or loan to value on refinance) and reduced closing costs. The catch is, there is an income limit of 140% of the area median income for where you buy. These limits are very generous and I rarely see this being an issue.

Additional Reading

As a 18 year veteran of the Mortgage and Real Estate industry, I am passionate about educating and empowering consumers. I have been writing about consumer protection issues, and making sense of complicated real estate and mortgage topics on this website since 2007

FindMyWayHome.com is owned and operated by Scott Schang, a NMLS Licensed mortgage loan officer in the State of California NMLS# 279893 as well as a California Real Estate Broker CalBRE#01329470. The views and opinions expressed on FindMyWayHome.com are those of the authors and do not reflect the views and opinions of any other organization or business. Find My Way Home is a Trademark of FMWH, LLC | 5640 B Telegraph Rd | St Louis MO 63129 Privacy Policy

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